Harry Potter and the Picture Return
by Jelly Bean3
Summary: *Chapters 3 & 4 up!* Hogwarts is supporting a foreign exchange student program this year. But will the newcomers enjoy their visit or find it too much for them to handle when a string of robberies appear?
1. Chapter 1 The Leaky Cauldron

Let's just say, that Harry Potter wasn't a normal boy. It wasn't only the fact that he was a wizard at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was more about who he was. He was the boy who lived. He, Harry Potter, had survived the most deadly curse known to wizards. Avada Kedavra-the Killing Curse.  
  
It was the works of the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Even Harry's parents hadn't survived the curse. Voldemort had attempted to kill baby Harry.and failed, leaving behind a small lightening shaped scare right on his forehead.  
  
Now, fifteen years from the incident, Harry was living miserably with his Aunt and Uncle-the Dursleys-for the summer holidays. He was pretty much limited to sitting in his room looking at the wall all summer. This was when he missed his school and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, the most. And this summer was his worst ever. Ron would normally have Harry over for the holidays, saving him from his miseries. However, this year, Ron was on vacation with his family visiting his brother in Romania.  
  
So, there Harry sat. Staring at the chipped white wall in front of him, waiting for the first of September when term started. He had one week left and he still hadn't gotten his new school supplies. The Dursley's hadn't let him leave and heaven forbid bring him to Diagon Alley.  
  
"I'll have to leave tonight, Hedwig," Harry told his snowy owl who sat in her cage next to him.  
  
Harry was planning to leave that night to go to Diagon Alley. He was going to catch the Knight Bus at the end of the street once everyone was sound asleep. It was now 9:30 exactly-Dudley's bedtime-and he was still downstairs watching WWF and eating pork rinds.  
  
Three.two.one.Harry thought.  
  
"Dudders!" A voice rang out.  
  
It was Aunt Petunia calling him for bed.  
  
Harry laughed under his breath.  
  
"MUMPH! I vanna vatch vis!" Dudley cried, his voice obviously muffled by the pork rinds he had stuffed in his mouth.  
  
The house shook as Dudley stomped up the stairs in mad rage yelling at his mother, "Honestly, Mum! I'm 15 years old! People my age don't have bedtimes!"  
  
"Now, Dudley watch your tone young man. See, you're just tired, tomorrow you'll feel refreshed!"  
  
There was a slam next door and the house rumbled once again.  
  
An hour and a half later, Harry knew it was safe to leave-Dudley was snoring next door. After leaving a short note on his bed-like the Dursley's cared-Harry dragged his trunk and Hedwig through the door as quietly as he could.  
  
The moon was hidden by the mass of clouds so all that lit Privet Drive was the lights posted here and there along the street. Harry attempted to flag the Knight Bus down by waving his wand. Then, all Harry had to do was wait and soon the bus would come and pick him up. Trying to be hidden, he sat on his trunk down at the corner of the street behind a tree.  
  
Five minutes passed with no Knight Bus and Hedwig hooted nipping at his cage, for she had barely gotten any fresh air the whole summer. After another five minutes Harry started to worry.  
  
Then out of nowhere the bus arrived, lighting up the whole street with a bang. Stan opened the bus door.  
  
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transporta-Why Harry!" Stan looked rather flustered. "You'll have to hurry, we're in rush to get to the Leaky Cauldron. We're meeting the Minister. But, enough 'bout that.it's quite urgent."  
  
"Diagon Alley, please," Harry asked as he forced his trunk into the bus. "What's urgent?"  
  
The bus started to shake and it was apparently moving as Harry handed Stan 11 sickles.  
  
Ernie spoke sounding sure of himself, but looking uneasy, "Now don't you worry your lil' head! We here just havin' problems at the Ministry. Nothing to worry about."  
  
Harry was too tired to think about it and lay on one of the many beds in the bus. He looked around at the other passengers. Most of them were groggily drooling on their pillows. Harry spotted an issue of The Daily Prophet that was sitting on the bed next to his and snatched it.  
  
The headline read:  
  
'Hogwarts Supports a Year of Foreign Exchange Students  
  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - As by the decision of Professor Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts will be holding a foreign exchange student program. Students from wizard schools all around the world will have the opportunity to spend a year at Hogwarts. Applications should be sent to the Ministry of Magic by August 31st. Anyone who sends in a form will be accepted years two to seven. Instructions will be sent to you before term starts.'  
  
As excitement spread over Harry, he smiled. The past year had been very fun. Last year, the Tri Wizard Tournament had taken place and it had been thrilling, but also a year of sorrow. One of the students at Hogwarts had died. Again, the works of Voldemort. But this year was a new year and Hogwarts was supporting foreign exchange students. Harry couldn't help but be eager.  
  
BANG! The bus pulled into Diagon Alley and Stan and Ernie rushed out into the Leaky Cauldron. Harry knew this whole Ministry incident wasn't just 'nothing', but he overlooked it once again and stepped out of the bus and into the parlor.  
  
Sitting at the bar, Mr. Fudge, Stan, and Ernie sat in deep conversation. Mr. Fudge's frown kept getting bigger and droopier and he nodded vigorously about 10 times.  
  
Harry stood a few feet away from them, hoping they would notice him standing there in the awkward moment swaying on his feet.  
  
"Ah! Harry! Staying here tonight are you?" Cornelius Fudge asked, getting up to his feet. "Tom, I think I could fix a room up a room for Harry here!"  
  
Tom was cleaning mugs and glasses, "Sure, three's open."  
  
Harry smiled and thanked him as he followed Mr. Fudge through the hallway and up the stairs.  
  
Mr. Fudge faced Harry as he unlocked room number 3, "I myself am staying here!"  
  
He led Harry into the small room.  
  
"The room's on me," he winked and shut the door, leaving Harry alone.  
  
It was now late into the night. Plopping on the bed in the corner of the room, Harry lay down and fell strait asleep. 


	2. Chapter 2 Robberies

Harry awoke to the chirping of birds outside his window. Rubbing his eyes, he picked up his glasses and put them on. Hedwig was sleeping underneath her wing, but Harry decided to wake her up and let her stretch with a nice morning soar. She left willingly and hooted.  
  
Looking around his room Harry thought he might as well get started with his school shopping. He pulled on a clean shirt and jeans and headed for Diagon Alley, his supply list at hand.  
  
"Mornin', Harry!" said the innkeeper, Tom. "Would you like cup of hot chocolate before you leave?"  
  
The parlor was crowded with guests looking for a late breakfast and the room smelled of eggs and bacon.  
  
"No, thank you," Harry answered politely. "I better get going. School supplies."  
  
Tom smiled and waved as balanced a tray of mugs with frothy hot cocoa.  
  
Diagon Alley was just as packed as the Leaky Cauldron. People pushed and shoved here and there. It was like being in a river with many currents. Finally he found his way to Flourish and Blotts.  
  
The door opened with the jingling of bells. The small shop was rather vacant compared to the street. Books covered the many rows of shelves. New. Used. Anything you wanted. He remembered last year when Gilderoy Lockhart had set up a stand for autographs and Mrs. Weasley had gone complete weak at the knees. Enough said.  
  
Harry scanned the rows of books and piled the ones he needed on top of one another. He stopped abruptly and looked through the shelf. A boy who looked his age was looking for a book, obviously frustrated. Harry didn't recognize him from Hogwarts.  
  
"Do you need some help?" Harry asked gladly, setting his books down.  
  
"Oh.uh sure," the timid boy was tall with tan skin and light brown hair and by the way he talked, it was clear that he from the US. "I'm Michael."  
  
"Harry."  
  
Michael's eyes flickered towards Harry's forehead.  
  
Harry smiled ineptly and asked, "You're not from Hogwarts are you?"  
  
"Oh, no. Well, I mean, I'm going to Hogwarts this year. For the foreign exchange program, you know? My girlfriend, Skylar, and I signed up together."  
  
"Really? I just read about the program in the Daily Prophet yesterday," Harry replied. "Now, what did you need help with?"  
  
"I just can't find one of the books on my list. The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five." He answered pointing to the book on his list.  
  
Harry scanned the shelf. "Ah, right here." He pulled the book off the shelf and handed it to Michael. "There you go."  
  
"Thanks," Taking the book, Michael stacked it on top of his pile. "Well, I better get going. I'll see you at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. See you there."  
  
Returning to his list, Harry moved forward to pay for his books and pulled out a handful of sickles, handing them to the cashier. Using her wand, the cashier made the money disappeared into thin air.  
  
She handed Harry his bag of books and said in monotone, "Thank you for shopping, have a great day."  
  
Harry left the shop and headed back to street.  
  
The rest of the day went by quickly and Harry soon found himself back at the Leaky Cauldron, carrying many bags filled to the rim with books and robes. Just as Harry was about to open the door to his room, Mr. Fudge walked by.  
  
"Up for dinner, Harry?" He asked cheerfully.  
  
Harry unlocked his door and set the bags down inside. "Sure! I'm starved."  
  
He and Mr. Fudge walked down the stairs and into the parlor, finding a table near the window out looking Diagon Alley and sat down. Fudge flagged down a waiter while Harry looked at the menu.  
  
"May I help you?" the waiter asked.  
  
Fudge and Harry ordered their food quickly and handed back their menus.  
  
"Mr. Fudge. Can I ask you a question?" Harry asked taking a sip of his water.  
  
Smiling broadly, Cornelius replied, "Yes, and maybe I'll have an answer."  
  
"Okay, er. Why were Stan and Ernie in such a rush to talk to you? I mean, they told me that the Ministry was having problems."  
  
Mr. Fudge's smile faded. "Well, seeing as though this is strictly Ministry business, I can't tell you exactly. All I'll say is that there have been some robberies throughout the families of the employees of the Ministry. Their okay, it's just, the culprit has stolen some pretty important things."  
  
Ron was the first person that came to Harry's mind. His father had worked at the Ministry for years in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department.  
  
"The Weasley's.were they robbed?" Harry asked.  
  
Mr. Fudge nodded as the waiter set their plates down in front of them. "I'm afraid so, but like I said before, no body was hurt at all. The Weasley's don't know yet. They're coming back on the 30th. We decided not to trouble them with that on their vacation."  
  
Nodding, Harry stirred his food around on his plate. The rest of their dinner was spent in silence. 


	3. Chapter 3 A New Girl

Harry wanted to write Ron a letter about what he had just heard, but for one reason, Romania was far away and by the time Hedwig arrived there they would have already been back at their house. And the other, just like Mr. Fudge said, he didn't want to ruin their vacation by having them worry.  
  
Sitting next to the fire, Harry breathed with frustration as Hedwig flew in through the window with another sandy owl. The second owl dropped a letter at Harry's feet. It didn't say whom it was from so Harry assumed it was from Sirius.  
  
While he opened the letter, the owl sat patiently on the desk. Anxiously scanned the letter. As Harry had thought, it was from Sirius.  
  
The note said:  
  
'Dear Harry,  
  
As always I am unable to tell you where I am, in case this letter is intercepted. I am fine and in the best shape of my life. Buckbeak and I are having the time of our lives. This is short, but I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I will see you soon.  
  
Love always,  
  
Sirius  
  
'I will see you soon?' Harry thought to himself. He hadn't seen Sirius in a long time and he missed him. Jumping at the fact of seeing him again, Harry tucked the note away in his trunk and pulled out a quill and parchment.  
  
'Sirius,  
  
Thank you for writing. I'm great here. Although, the Dursley's wouldn't let me leave for Diagon Alley to get my school supplies, I had to sneak out last night and catch the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron. And that's where I am now. I'm not quite sure how they took it at the home. You said, 'See you soon.' Are you coming to London? If you are I'm looking forward to it! Oh, I almost forgot, Mr. Fudge told me about the Ministry. He said that the families of the Ministry employees have been victims of robberies. Do you know anything about this? Ron's family was supposedly robbed, but they don't know yet, however. They're gone on vacation. Well, I have to get to bed. Miss you and hope to see you soon.  
  
Harry  
  
Harry folded the letter he wrote and thrust it into an envelope. He was tired and his eyes kept reluctantly shutting on him. He gave the letter back to Sirius's owl and dragged himself to his bed.  
  
* * *  
  
The last days of vacation passed by hastily, giving Harry barely any time to do what he had to do. He wrote Ron and Hermione a letters, wandered around Diagon Alley, and did the last bits of his homework that he had put off so much over the summer.  
  
When September 1st came, Harry packed up his things and headed for the Knight Bus again. As he arrived at Kings Cross, he saw Hermione carting her trunk around the station obviously looking for Harry.  
  
"Hermione!" Harry shouted. "Wait up!"  
  
Running with his trunk, he caught up with Hermione at the gate.  
  
"Hey, Harry!" Hermione thrust her arms around his neck. "How've you been?"  
  
Harry nodded. "Okay, what about you?"  
  
"Great! I had the best summer! I got to visit, Viktor with my parents, it was so much fun!"  
  
"Excuse me?" A girl walked up to Harry and Hermione carrying many packages, her blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders. "Are you from Hogwarts?"  
  
Her blue-green eyes met with Harry's and they both blushed until there faces were crimson.  
  
"Er-yes, we're from Hogwarts!" Hermione answered, seeing as though Harry was preoccupied. "You were wondering how to get to the platform weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah," the girl answered meekly. "I'm Mariane, by the way."  
  
"I'm.Harry."  
  
"And I'm Hermione! Nice to meet you, Mariane." Hermione said politely. "About the platform. You see, it's right through that barrier. So, all you have to do is run through the brick wall and, presto, you're there!"  
  
Harry snapped back into reality after staring at Mariane. He clearly found her quite pretty.  
  
"Thanks, a lot!" Mariane answered and gripped her cart.  
  
The three made their way to platform nine-and-three-quarters, hearing the roar of the train's engine in the background. As they left their trunks near the back of the Hogwarts Express, they boarded the train, finding Ron sitting in a compartment in back, looking out the window, looking quite bewildered.  
  
"Ron?" Harry asked as he entered the compartment. "You found out didn't you?" 


	4. Chapter 4 A New Year

"Yeah."  
  
Harry sat down next to Ron as Mariane and Hermione took their seats across from them.  
  
"Is it bad?"  
  
"Bad? Of course it's bad! Some stupid mugger practically stole our house!"  
  
Gulping, Harry answered gently. "I'm sorry, Ron."  
  
Ron didn't answer, but only stared out the window irritably.  
  
"So, you're here for the foreign exchange program aren't you, Mariane?" asked Hermione.  
  
Nodding, Mariane answered, "Yeah, my best friend Rosie and I signed up. She's from Beauxbatons. I used to go there, but then I moved to the US. I had to transfer."  
  
"Oh, yeah, they visited Hogwarts last year for the tournament."  
  
"Yeah, she told me! I heard it was wicked fun." Mariane smiled. "She should be here soon!"  
  
Harry sat next to Ron in bother, not knowing what to make out of the situation.  
  
"They stole everything, Harry!" Ron shouted out of nowhere.  
  
Just sitting there, Harry listened to his friend.  
  
Lowering his tone, Ron went on. "My parents were already on a tight budget this year with our trip to Romania and now this."  
  
"I'm sure everything will be okay, Ron. What did they take?"  
  
"Like I said before, pretty much everything. School stuff, pictures, and some of my dad's old stuff from when he was at Hogwarts."  
  
Harry nodded. Changing the subject, he turned to Mariane. "Oh, I forgot to introduce you to my friend, Ron. Ron, this is Mariane. Mariane, Ron."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Ron said, still looking out the window.  
  
"You too."  
  
Mariane looked at Harry and he shook his head.  
  
"Mariane!!!" A voice rang out.  
  
Shooting crazily up from her seat, Mariane hugged a girl standing at the door of the compartment.  
  
"Ah! You're here! You're here!" the girl screamed.  
  
"You guys, this is Rosie! The one I told you about!"  
  
Rosie was a slim girl with long dark hair, and big brown eyes that completely took over Harry as he smiled at her.  
  
"Rosie, this is Hermione, Ron, and Harry."  
  
As she bit her lip, she shook Harry's hand and like her best friend, blushed madly.  
  
Harry was beginning to like the new foreign exchange program, for he had found Mariane and Rosie quite stunning. He shifted closer to Ron, leaving Rosie room to sit.  
  
The rest of the train ride passed in awkwardness. For one thing, Ron was as crabby as could be, and for another, Hermione could clearly tell that Harry was entirely in the clouds with Rosie and Mariane.  
  
When they arrived at Hogwarts, Hermione guided everyone to the carriages and they were soon sitting in the Great Hall waiting for the Sorting Ceremony to start.  
  
"Welcome," Professor Dumbledore started. "I am sure you are all aware of new foreign exchange program we are supporting. And now, at this time, I would like to call all the new exchange students and the first years to the front."  
  
Mariane and Rosie got up and walked to the front of the hall nervously, hoping that they would get in the same house as their new friends.  
  
As Professor McGonagall called off the names of the new students, Rosie and Mariane stood there nervously, waiting for their turn.  
  
"Jones, Mariane?"  
  
Anxiously, Mariane made her way to the stool where the Sorting Hat sat and sat down.  
  
"Hmmm. You have intellect and plenty of bravery. Hmm.this is difficult. Let's see. Ravenclaw!"  
  
Her heart dropped in disappointment, but she smiled as she made her way to the Ravenclaw table, Harry's eyes following her as she walked.  
  
The list continued and soon it was Rosie's turn to be sorted.  
  
"Okay. You have a great deal of courage and loyalty. This is tough one, but I'd have to say. Gryffindor!"  
  
Beaming, Rosie skipped to the Gryffindor table. Even though she wasn't in the same house as her best friend she looked on the bright side and grinned madly.  
  
When everyone was sorted into their houses, the feast began. Delicious food filled the golden plates and the goblets filled with pumpkin juice. Everyone stuffed their faces. It even seemed to cheer Ron up.  
  
"Harry!" It was Michael; he was sitting a few seats down from him, next to a girl with strawberry-blonde hair and gleaming blue eyes, that was most likely his girlfriend he had talked about.  
  
Harry got up and walked over to him. "Hey, Michael. Is this your girlfriend? It's Skylar, right?"  
  
Michael nodded. "Skylar, this is Harry, the one I told you about."  
  
"Hi, Harry! Nice to meet you."  
  
Smiling Harry let them return to their meal. "I'll see you guys later."  
  
A tapping noise came from Dumbledore's glass.  
  
"Attention students, seeing as though this is another very special year, the teachers of Hogwarts and I have decided to hold another Ball this year. It will take place again during Christmas time. I hope you will all enjoy it."  
  
Dumbledore continued, making sure everyone knew the rules and expectations.  
  
Harry was looking forward to the new year, he had already made many new friends and he was just overall enjoying it. Little did he know that this year would be a peculiar year. 


End file.
